How long should a regular chapter be?

[Brownie]

I'm extremely new to this whole writing shebang, and I was wondering how long or how short I should make chapters. My first chapter, which was essentially a prologue, was a little less than 1400 words. My second chapter, which should count as my 'first' actual chapter, neared 3000. Is that too much, or not enough? Looking for any opinions.

 

[S-Scherr]

From my experience, I don't believe chapter length should be dictated by word counts. That being said, chapter length, for me, depends on the pace of the chapter. If you're throwing a lot of information at your reader, such as setting description, history, etc., then you might not want an encyclopedia-sized chapter that puts the reader to sleep with extraneous details that would be better experienced through characters rather than 'told'. However, if you have a lot of action or dialogue going on, which usually speeds up the pace, then a longer chapter could fly by rather quickly. So, it all depends on the pacing of said chapter. Lots of info = smaller doses. Lots of activity = larger doses. Just my 2 cents ;)

 

[Brownie]

From my experience, I don't believe chapter length should be dictated by word counts. That being said, chapter length, for me, depends on the pace of the chapter. If you're throwing a lot of information at your reader, such as setting description, history, etc., then you might not want an encyclopedia-sized chapter that puts the reader to sleep with extraneous details that would be better experienced through characters rather than 'told'. However, if you have a lot of action or dialogue going on, which usually speeds up the pace, then a longer chapter could fly by rather quickly. So, it all depends on the pacing of said chapter. Lots of info = smaller doses. Lots of activity = larger doses. Just my 2 cents ;)

I see, that makes sense. Thanks for the reply! Hmm... I did have a medium sized info dump in the 'first' chapter (I edited the names so its actually prologue and then chapter 1 now, didn't know I could do that before.) and then after that it was almost entirely activity. I ended it off at what seemed like a good stopper after I got close to 3000 words, and about 700 of that was the info dump.
I know I'm just saying the same things over again xd. It's probably best if I record by pages instead, but it doesn't tell you how many pages you have per chapter, just in total. Grrr

 

[IvyVeritas]

The numbers I've seen for novels are that they typically average 3000 to 5000 words, but the needs of the chapter are more important than the size requirements.

I've seen people suggest smaller sizes for web fiction, to help people reading on mobile, but since I release my stuff as ebooks, I stick closer to traditional sizes, though I've ranged as low as 1000 and as high as 7000.

 

[CupcakeNinja]

I'm extremely new to this whole writing shebang, and I was wondering how long or how short I should make chapters. My first chapter, which was essentially a prologue, was a little less than 1400 words. My second chapter, which should count as my 'first' actual chapter, neared 3000. Is that too much, or not enough? Looking for any opinions.

I always go for at least the 2000 mark, but double if I haven't updated in like a week. Note that not all chapters are equal. 2000 for me is fine because my story is fast paced and a bit more bare bones in descriptions normally. But what if the opposite was true? The story might not progress much in that amount of words.

And me, I like finding " appropriate" places to stop. Why? To leave the most impact. So sometimes I have to increase or decrease the number of words just to get to that right spot.

I find 2000 to be a fairly long chapter, an ideal chapter length. But you gotta tailor the word length to your story, you know? Don't gotta be exact with it, just gottts try not being too short. Too long? Never a problem. But as I said, I like finding appropriate stopping points.

 

[Phantomheart]

I always go for the 2000 word count. It’s hknestly a matter of preference, but unless you are updating frequently (multiple chapters daily or weekly), most readers will not stick around for chapters at 1000 words or less.

 

[jinxs2011]

It depends. I generally aim for 3500, but if i'm in the middle of a scene or something finishes before that, I often find myself going a bit shorter or longer than that, so my chapters vary more between 3300 and 4000.
I would say that as long as something, or multiple things, happen in your chapter, it should be fine. Don't try and cut things off abruptly just because you've reached your target word count, and don't write guff just to pad up to your aim.
Don't write so much that it feels difficult to read all in one go, but not so little that it feels like there's no actual progression in each chapter.
In other words, do what you feel is best for your story.

 

[Kotohood]

There's no golden standard for these things. As a reader I do prefer longer chapters of 3k+.

But, as writer it will be more advantageous of you to post lesser wordier chapters(assuming the story is not affected) since you will get more exposure that way.

You also need to think of your capabilities to keep writing chapters of very long length if you choose to do so.

 

[Sabruness]

i always see people mentioning 2k but i dont buy into specific numbers.

follow the flow of the story in dividing chapters.

 

[Zero300]

It's not about the length of the chapter, it's about the cruelness of the cliffhanger.

- Zero300​

 

[FriendlyDragon]

As long as it needs to be. Don't worry about the length and just write until you come to a natural break.

 

[javert]

My average chapter* is between 5-9k words long. My shortest is <2k, my longest is ~17k. I write typically one event per chapter, or a few smaller scenes if they are related/chronological/don't deserve their own chapter.

I think I'm an exception rather than the rule, though, as from what I can tell, most people write /way/ shorter chapters. But whatever makes you happy to write is what you should do.

*they're not all posted here, haha, I'm in the process of cross posting from royalroad

 

[Scribbler]

Some should pin this or one of the prior threads. I feel like this is the third thread with the same question.

 

[DaoFox]

Some should pin this or one of the prior threads. I feel like this is the third thread with the same question.

it seems to be a frequent misunderstanding of new writers that they have to conform to a very VERY specific set of rules. "write this much", "do it just like this", "absolutely never go near that".

the only advice that can be given regarding chapter length, is to write until everything that needed to be said has been said. then make sure you remove everything that does not fit or is not important enough to be mentioned and then once more determine the quality of what you have written and add as necessary.

once you have included everything that must be there in as few words as possible you have achieved the ideal chapter length, for that single chapter, for yourself as a writer.

different chapters will naturally have different lengths, trying to force them to conform to a set content limit will just put unnecessary strain on the writer and negatively influence their final piece.

having an average chapter length for a novel is worth noting as something prone to constant change. only when the novel is finished will a final average word-count be established, and you will likely find not a single chapter is a dead match for that number, some will be close and others far away.

 

[Scribbler]

it seems to be a frequent misunderstanding of new writers that they have to conform to a very VERY specific set of rules. "write this much", "do it just like this", "absolutely never go near that".

the only advice that can be given regarding chapter length, is to write until everything that needed to be said has been said. then make sure you remove everything that does not fit or is not important enough to be mentioned and then once more determine the quality of what you have written and add as necessary.

once you have included everything that must be there in as few words as possible you have achieved the ideal chapter length, for that single chapter, for yourself as a writer.

different chapters will naturally have different lengths, trying to force them to conform to a set content limit will just put unnecessary strain on the writer and negatively influence their final piece.

having an average chapter length for a novel is worth noting as something prone to constant change. only when the novel is finished will a final average word-count be established, and you will likely find not a single chapter is a dead match for that number, some will be close and others far away.

Why'd you quote me?

You should write more. A lot of people are saying there is no answer, but there is. There needs to be an atmospheric/thematic beginning and ending for each chapter. You can't do it simply by feel. One must think about the length, even if only subconsciously.

 

[Discount_Blade]

Personally, I will refuse to read anything that has chapters short of at LEAST 2,000 words. I can accept a prologue and even an epilogue being shorter, but that is my only exception. I am not in any way, shape, or form, convinced that chapters are acceptable any shorter than that. To me, even 2,000 is too short but I can tolerate it. Any shorter and I automatically shun the story since there is no way a writer can convey a proper amount of detail, description, action and so on in a single chapter, and condense it to be shorter than 2,000 words. As I said, 2,000 words are awfully short to me, but I tolerate it. However, as for the longest? The sky is the limit as far as I'm concerned.

I'm a hardliner on this. Before I get invested in any story, I make sure the author's know this and ask beforehand.

 

[kira]

So harsh! By putting yourself in a box of your own convictions you could miss out on a great little story! Open your mind and you might be surprised what you find:;)::-)

 

[Vanny]

I write about five hundred. I aim for quality and concept in my writing, not word count. Though, I wish they were two thousand word long chapters.

Writing is strenuous for me.

 

[Discount_Blade]

So harsh! By putting yourself in a box of your own convictions you could miss out on a great little story! Open your mind and you might be surprised what you find:;)::-)

Any story with so many shorter chapters is far more often than not, lacking in key description, or any description except maybe bare bones which I also dislike. If you can't be bothered to describe something and make only a half-hearted attempt at it, then why are you writing it in the first place? And then comes details. Having such short chapters means scenes will have to be condensed or stretched out over multiple chapters which are okay usually IF they are short scenes. Otherwise, it is unnecessary to have more than 2 chapters for a single scene at most, unless it's an epic battle scene, which then falls under an entirely different category of rules which are irrelevant here in this particular thread. However, having appropriate dialogue, proper action and detail, and then shoving it into one chapter so short....I just can't see it. If it is done, something somewhere has been sacrificed even if the writer themselves can't identify it.

And also, I have actually read several stories before with shorter chapters, and as I mentioned, it typically did one of two, (sometimes both) faults I cannot accept in writing if I plan to read it. It either stretched a single scene, or something simple at least out over multiple chapters which like I said, is not necessary and shouldn't be done. The other thing they typically did if not the former mistake, was they were so minuscule in descriptive detail that I couldn't picture anything.

Yes, I should use my imagination, but I shouldn't have to use my imagination solely to picture YOUR story. You have to lay the groundwork before my mind can produce the structural foundation of the image you are trying to portray. If you can't do that or don't think the writer is responsible for this, than your writing will NEVER grow in the way you likely imagine it will.

Of course, this is my opinion and I accept people will disagree and that is fine.

 

[TheIcMan]

I write about five hundred. I aim for quality and concept in my writing, not word count. Though, I wish they were two thousand word long chapters.

Writing is strenuous for me.

Y'know in all honesty, writing in five hundred words sounds way harder than writing two thousand. I personally do go for the 2k threshold, and that usually comes naturally to me. But five hundred? Honestly, that sounds like a skill.